TP Paper...
'Just Plain' Michael Munz
Well, I haven't been on this ng for quite some time, but I figured I'd
stop by and post the following. It's a paper I wrote on Twin Peaks for my
visual communications class at the University of Washington. I won't take
up too much space with an intro- I just thought I'd stick it on here in
case anyone is interested. For those of you who remember me- hello. Any
comments are welcome at this e-mail...
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Michael G. Munz "I want my next video to look just like
bun...@u.washington.edu Time Moronz."
-#6 on the Top Ten List of Things
Sting Will Never Say.
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STOPLIGHTS
and Other Phatic Images
"Twin Peaks" has been called by Time Magazine "the most hauntingly
original work ever done for American television." While only appearing on
ABC for a year and a half- barely two seasons, the unique series created
by Mark Frost and David Lynch has achieved cult status. Viewers watched
and rewatched, searching for answers to questions like "Who killed Laura
Palmer?", "Just who or what is Bob?", and "What exactly is the nature of
the Black and White lodges?" Others, however, were turned off by the
show's oddities, calling it weird for weirdness' sake. Perhaps a more
valid question for those who disliked the show would be something like
"Just what is up with that stoplight?"
"Twin Peaks" is filled with images whose purpose is not
immediately clear, some which even seem to be thrown in with completely
unrelated scenes. The long shot of the stoplight at Sparkwood and 21 is
one such image. But it is images such as this which make "Twin Peaks"
what it is. These images have a purpose- they are used as tools in a way
that is not often seen in television.
The aforementioned stoplight is actually only one of three such
reoccurring images, inserted between two scenes which often have little or
nothing to do with the image itself- or so it would appear on the surface.
Along with the stoplight, we are shown a close-up of wind blowing through
evergreen trees, and an extreme close-up of the waterfall. Each of these
shots are used a total of nine times during the entire series.
Many people try to look for hidden symbolism or a deep meaning in
these images, but they are not there as symbols, but phatic images
designed to bring about a certain mood. All three are very solitary and
contemplative. The trees and waterfall are, of course, very natural, and
viewed without the presence of any other image or person. Why would such
a mood be desired? To find out, it helps to look at the situations where
the images appear.
First of all, in nearly every instance that the images appear, the
are inserted between two scenes that are unrelated. Now, these scenes
could appear side by side with either nothing between them, or just a
brief fade to black. Having the images there has two effects. One, it
makes the transition less harsh, keeping the separation clear and yet not
yanking the viewer around quickly. The second effect is that it provides
a mood to accentuate the related scenes. This becomes clearer when one
examines each image and the places it is used in.
The first image seen in the series, that of wind through trees, is
used mainly for scenes involving ordinary sadness or suffering. (Here,
"ordinary" indicates no supernatural involvement.) With the exception of
two instances, the image comes after the sad scene. To analyze this in
terms of the two effects mentioned above, consider the first time the
trees are shown, in the pilot episode. In this case, the scene preceding
the images is that of Leland Palmer identifying the body of his daughter
in the hospital- a father's grief. Leland, as any parent would, now feels
the loss of his only child and the resulting loneliness. The following
scene is of a busy hallway in Twin Peaks High School. To suddenly break
away to this would serve to cheapen the feeling of grief, casting it away
to replace it with the next scene as if it were not an intense feeling,
but rather something simple that one encounters every day and takes for
granted. To skip over it like this would be the a! ction of someone who
is desensit ized to grief, and that would carry over to the viewer.
Therefore, by placing the trees between, the concrete visual has changed,
but the feeling and the ability to ponder it remains. When the second
scene is finally begun, there has now been a slower, two stage process of
switching scenes that better preserves the integrity of the previous
scene.
What, then, of the waterfall? In every instance, save one, it is
placed adjacent to at least one scene with Special Agent Cooper. In
addition, each instance involved something related to the main story line
regarding the lodges. Because of this, it can be surmised that the
waterfall image's main purpose is not to hold on to a feeling of grief,
but rather to allow the viewer to contemplate and absorb what she/he has
just viewed without having to deal with another scene. The close-up of
the waterfall is a very simple images, and becomes merely a flowing of
black, white, and gray tones. Therefore, there is little to distract
one's thinking from pondering the previous scene.
In addition, the waterfall is also used occasionally as
foreshadowing, as is the case during episode 10 of the second season, this
being the fourth time the waterfall is inserted. In the preceding scene,
Audrey is saying what she thinks is good-bye to Agent Cooper. Her last
words as she leaves are, "You know, there's only one problem with you.
You're perfect." As she leaves we are left with a shot of Cooper as he
ponders this, appearing somehow troubled. The next shot is the waterfall,
along with something else. Playing in the background is a faint trace of
the music which the Little Man From Another Places dances to in Cooper's
dream. This is very subtle foreshadowing. When viewing this scene after
seeing the entire series, one can tell that this may be referring to when
Cooper will be tested in the Black Lodge, a place where, according to
Deputy Hawk, "every soul must pass through...on the way to perfection."
The simplicity of the waterfall image alone facilitates ! contemplation
of this extremely subtle and vague clue, and perhaps helps the viewer to
recall the idea later when more information is gained, but in addition,
the flowing black and white in the waterfall is able to give additional
assistance to future recall, when one first hears of the White and Black
Lodges, or at the very least, is able to subtly clue in a viewer who has
seen the series before.
This brings us to the stoplight, which is used for the most
powerful, lodge related scenes. Unlike the waterfall or trees, the visual
of the stoplight carries with it a meaning soon after it is first viewed.
It is the light at Sparkwood and 21- the place where Laura jumped from
James's cycle and ran off into the woods on the night of her murder. Each
instance of the stoplight reminds us of the murder, which was merely a
symptom of the existence of Bob and the Black Lodge. Therefore, the
stoplight is shown adjacent to scenes dealing with Laura's murder or the
nature of the spirits in the woods. Just as with the trees and waterfall,
the stoplight can serve to provide a time to contemplate the meaning of
something which was revealed. However, by the fact that it is recognized
as having to do with Laura's death, it can also act as an indicator to
alert the viewer that something important is about to happen or be said.
For example, in episode two of the second season, there is a scene
where Donna walks in on James and Maddie as they are holding each other.
Donna runs off, and James follows her. The stoplight is then inserted
here, changing from green to yellow to red. Maddie is now standing by
pictures of Laura on the mantle, crying that it seems to her that she has
fallen into a dream, and everyone acts like she's Laura. As Maddie with
be killed by Bob five episodes later, this is an important statement that
foreshadows her coming death.
The stoplight appears in other places, such as before Sarah
Palmer's vision of the necklace being found, Hawk and Cooper talking about
souls, and when The Giant appears to Cooper the final time in the
roadhouse, right before Bob emerges from Glastonbury Grove. Sometimes the
light is constant, other times it changes. Why? A changing stoplight
indicates a change in direction of traffic, or in the context of the show,
a change in direction of the plot. When the light does change, it is when
it is placed between a scene that has little or nothing to do with the
main story line, and one that is directly related, such as in the
previously described scene with Maddie. (While one does cause the other,
the background focus is much different.) When the stoplight remains
constant, the adjacent scenes are both of importance, and related to the
same theme or idea within the main plot. An example of this is the final
stoplight shot. The Giant has appeared to Cooper in the Roadhouse! ,
warning him not to let Annie e nter Miss Twin Peaks. The scene ends as we
see the Roadhouse and hear the voice of the Mayor complaining about the
microphone, "Something's wrong...this isn't right. Something's wrong
here..." (This, of course, has a double meaning.) We then are shown the
stoplight, a solid green. Afterward, we are slowly taken to what we will
soon learn is Glastonbury Grove, where Bob appears.
Three reoccurring images; the trees, the waterfall, and the
stoplight. It is interesting to note that the importance and the
supernatural overtones of each image increase in that order. Trees exist
in nature and can be seen everywhere. The waterfall, while being a
natural occurrence, is rarer and is more likely to make someone stop and
look. Therefore, the importance of the surrounding scenes are directly
related to the rarity of these images occurring in nature. The stoplight,
of course, does not naturally occur, and it is the stoplight which is the
indicator for the lodge/Bob story line- the supernatural. In Twin Peaks:
Fire Walk With Me (the prequel to the series), it is hinted at that the
lodge entities such as Bob are somehow connected t electricity, which
again ties into the stoplight. These images are not haphazardly thrown
into the series, but have purpose, meaning and correlation with the story
itself.
One of the characteristics of "Twin Peaks" is that it must be
viewed more than once to grasp its full meaning and story. Upon a second
viewing, one notices a great deal more about things, not the least of
which is the existence of a great deal of foreshadowing, usually so subtle
that it is not even remembered until viewed again. In Twin Peaks: Fire
Walk With Me, there is a line spoken during Phillip Jefferies' "dream"
sequence: "And everything will proceed cyclically." This cycle theme can
be seen during the series in the events surrounding the murder of Maddie.
This theme is visually shown by placing spinning objects in particular key
scenes.
In the situation of Maddie, who is killed by Bob just before she
is about to head back to Montana, there are two main images- the ceiling
fan and the record player in the Palmer house. The fan is the first of
the two which is shown, seen from far away and close-up when Sarah is
looking for Laura on the morning Laura's body is found. We learn later in
the movie that the fan has some connection with Bob, but even without
knowing this, the fan is connected with the murder as Sarah looks vainly
for Laura. The record player is later seen as Leland mourns for Laura.
Perhaps the most powerful foreshadowing of this type is in the
beginning of the seventh episode of the second season- the episode where
Maddie is killed. It involves Maddie sitting on the couch with Sarah and
Leland, telling them that she's going to be leaving. During the entire
scene, the camera is moving, keeping the action in the background. The
foreground begins on the mantle, where there are numerous pictures of
Laura. The camera continues crossing behind the open record player.
Here, the people in the background are framed by the lid of the player and
the turntable, as the record spins slowly at the bottom of the screen.
The cycle is nearly gone full circle- there will be another murder. Later
in the episode, just before the actual murder, the viewer is presented
with potentially confusing images- Sarah crawling down the stairs, a white
horse appearing in the Palmer living room, and the Log Lady telling
Cooper, "We don't know what will happen, or when..." Howeve! r, there
are also close-ups of t he ceiling fan and the turntable, helping to let
the viewer know what will happen.
There is another circular image relating to Maddie's murder which
deserves some study. Episode three of the second season begins with the
camera slowly spiraling out of some sort of dark, fibrous tunnel. After
the camera finally emerges, it is found to be a small hole in a wall tile
of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station interrogation room. During the time
when it is still unclear what the viewer is seeing, there are also some
interesting and revealing sounds. First, the word, "Maddie..." is
repeated constantly. Second, there is the sound of an EKG machine, as a
heartbeat slowly winds down and ends in the long, steady beep that
indicates death. Immediately after the steady beep begins, the camera
switches to Leland. Ordinarily, given those sounds and the shot of
Leland, it would be possible for a viewer to hypothesize that Leland will
kill Maddie, or be somehow related to her death. However, these sounds
are overshadowed by the mysterious image as the viewer spends his/h! er
time concentrating not on the
sounds, but on trying to figure out just what he/she is looking at. Why
this would be done is not entirely clear, perhaps the idea that seeing is
believing is being challenged in that if the viewer didn't put so much
emphasis on figuring out what it was he was seeing, he would learn a lot
more by listening. Perhaps it is a criticism of the importance of sight
to cognition. Regardless, it is still a powerful image, especially for
the viewer who has seen it before and is therefore able to look past the
image and hear this time what his eyes had kept him from seeing before.
There are other visual clues foreshadowing Maddie's murder and the
identity of Bob, these being more traditional than the previous. When
Maddie arrives in Twin Peaks during the third episode of the first season,
her hair is curly, and she is wearing glasses. As the series progresses,
her hair slowly changes from its original style into one more resembling
Laura's. By the time of her death, her hair is very much alike, and she
has lost the glasses entirely, filling Laura's space and subsequently
getting killed.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The question is, who chooses
which thousand words go with the picture? While the photographer or
cinematographer may choose how the image appears, the viewer chooses
exactly how to interpret the image, often personalizing it to himself and
thus making it seem more appealing to that person. Perhaps this would
account for "Twin Peaks'" appeal. While it may disenchant those who would
prefer a more concrete, verbal explanation of the plot, the large quantity
of events expressed in visuals enable a viewer to (after repeated
viewings) mold their own personal version of the plot, characters, and
underlying nature of the supernatural elements residing in the woods.
This adds a certain amount of personal creativity, as is the case with any
interpretation, and that personalization makes for a more enjoyable
experience.
This wide ranger of interpretation can be seen by browsing the
Internet news group devoted to "Twin Peaks," alt.tv.twin-peaks. There are
often discussions (and arguments) centered around different
interpretations of the same idea. When viewed objectively, both are often
feasible, yet each member involved in the discussion supports their side
because it is their interpretation, how they would like to view the
images, and how they like to think of the story.
Perhaps the scenes most interpreted are those during Agent
Cooper's journey into the Black Lodge during the second season finale.
Cooper is entering another world, a place unlike anything he or the viewer
has encountered before. It therefore makes sense that this is perhaps the
most confusing part of the entire series. Soon after entering, a strobe
light effect begins, illuminating the area the Cooper sees. While the
actual scene is relatively simple, (some chairs, a statue, the Little Man
From Another Place and a jazz singer) the strobe light has a
phantasmagoric effect that elevates the scene to a more surreal and
sublime vision. Frequent cuts to show Cooper's reactions also serve to
increase the effect, contrasting the oddities shown with the human
spectator. These shots of Cooper also influence the attitudes of the
viewer: Cooper is not merely watching, his expression seems to show that
he is attempting to seriously think about what is happening before him,
and this!
may help the viewer to try and do this as well. Finally, after the
singer is finished, he fades away, further reminding the viewer that while
this person may appear somewhat ordinary, they are still watching a world
that is not as the one they know.
There is also a very minimal amount of speech in the Black Lodge,
further increasing the dependence on images and personal interpretation.
For example, when the "world's most decrepit room service waiter" brings
Cooper coffee and then sits down, the shot cuts to Cooper, and then back
to where the waiter was, only to see The Giant in his place. The Giant
only says, "One and the same." This is ambiguous. Is he referring to
himself and the Little Man (who is next to him in the shot), or himself
and the waiter? Previous experience seeing the waiter and The Giant in
close proximity makes me believe the latter, but there are those who
choose to believe the former and prefer that interpretation. Other such
visuals, like the changing forms of the coffee followed by the extremely
open "Wow Bob wow" are likewise wide open to interpretation, and also
increase the surrealism of the scene.
"Twin Peaks" is not a show that one can watch while doing
something else. It's visual properties require an immersion in the
viewing experience. Phatic images of trees, waterfalls and stoplights
accentuate feelings and mood that are intended to go with the presented
scenes. Hints of future events and background information regarding
complicated elements of the Black and White Lodges are hidden on the
screen, waiting to either be merely seen or actively interpreted. What
seems strange and meaningless is usually not- while sometimes a donut is
just a donut, nearly everything has a reason for being there. To fully
explore the implications of every image would be an immense undertaking,
and it is a testament to the imagination of "Twin Peaks'" creators that
such an abundant amount of relevant visuals could be consciously placed.
As people continue to be introduced to the imagery of "Twin Peaks"
and continue to watch it a second, third, and even a tenth time, new
things will be picked out, new ideas will be analyzed, and new questions
will be posed, some to forever go unanswered. And one may ever wonder,
"Just how is Annie?"
c1995
by Michael G. Munz
Erwin Vomberg
hi!
PMM>What seems strange and meaningless is usually not- while sometimes a
PMM>donut is just a donut, nearly everything has a reason for being there.
or: "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!" (sigmund freud)
but in twin peaks it seems to me, that everything has not only a deeper
meaning or can be interpreted as a symbol for whatever, everything has a
relation to everything. this appears as surrealism but is to me just
"magic" in the words meaning (i will not think of what david lynch has
taken over from a.crowley).
gruss und aus! evo
-----
Erwin Vomberg @ ac3.maus.de
bitte keine mails >16 kb ins mausnet!
Erwin Vomberg
hi!
it came to me some days ago, when i saw the episode with leland
recognising bob as an neigbour from the place of his own childhood.
bob (robert or robertson) threw burning matches after little leland,
asking him if he would like to play with the fire. let's take this as a
symbol for sexuality. i think, we can be sure, that leland is in his
childhood been sexually abused by bob. from a physically existent "bob"
or from a supernatural "bob" may be left as an open question.
as an abused child he will in his later life transport this experiences
into his family, because his mind is obsessed with the things, bob did to
him.
as he said in his dying-sequence: "he (bob) penetrated me!" this is
meant in a physical and a supernatural way. what he tells agent cooper
are exactly the things, one says, when after years the crimes that
happened to one, come fully clear back to mind. bob "penetrated" leland
not only in a supernatural way. bob became part of the mind of leland,
exactly how every cild-abuser becomes part of the mind of his victim.
so bob is nothing else then the archaic prototype of children-abuse, the
everlasting ghost in all of that kind of crimes, and bob is supernatural
but lives physically in and through persons like leland and all other
victims of that kind of crime.
sarah acts similar to a lot of mothers of victims of child-abuse. she
knows, but tries to throw her knowledge to the other garbage of her
underconciousness. it can not be, what may not be. what she does not
realise has not happened. she is not able to handle such a problem. so
she has this visions of bob.
all persons, who have had visions of bob, have the attitudes of victims.
leland has abused his daughter for a long time. so in his mind there's
always a fight between him and bob. leland has lost this fight a long
time ago. he acts like bob, because he was totally penetrated (in the
words meaning) by bob and now bob is completely in leland.
the same kind of sublimation is found in laura's diary, when she talks
about "bob". in a weird kind she loves bob, in this weird kind in which
every child has to love his abuser(-father or -parent) because the
child's physical existance depends on it's parents. she knows, that bob
is her father, but she isn't able to say that in a clear way. so the
only way out is to die.
understanding bob in this way means that bob will live in eternity,
because his victims will guarantee his existance.
fire, walk with me!
Erwin Vomberg
hi!
i found that "tp paper" very interesting. this facettes of the stoplight,
the waterfall and the tress i didn't realize before.
PMM>The record player is later seen as Leland mourns for Laura.
the rhythm, that is played by the record-player in the scene, when sarah
palmer is lying conciousless on the floor, is overtaken exactly by the
band, which plays in the roadhouse and is interrupted by the appearance
of the ghost, that tells agent cooper that eyerything will happen once
again.
later leland palmer (better:bob) uses the last (!) title of the same
record as background music for his last dance before his attempt to kill
donna. "when the music's over" donna would be dead. but before the
music's over, harry appears and donna will be saved through the death of
maddie.